76 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great product except for one fatal flaw, June 12, 2002
This review is from: Bosch RA1180 Benchtop Router Table
I bought one of these and liked it a lot, except for one flaw: the router mount plate, which is made of some kind of plastic, flexes. For operations where the workpiece is supported by the aluminum table, this isn't a problem, but I was making sliding dovetail joints. One piece was supported by the table, but the other piece only 'rode' on the mount plate. This resulted in ~1/16" difference between the two cuts.
I contacted Bosch, who were very up-front and said that they did see some deflection in the plate and recommended that if this was a problem I return the table and buy a non-flexing product. I'm still trying to decide between Veritas and Benchdog, leaning toward the Benchdog.
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Buyer Beware!, January 9, 2004
This review is from: Bosch RA1180 Benchtop Router Table
As a professional woodworker, I had high expectations for this product primarily because of the manufacturers reputation. Unfortunately, however, I was sorely disappointed.
All product literature promotes the tools "Precision Ground" table top. Apparently though, Bosch's definition of precision is lacking to the point of making this tool unusable.
After initial assembly, mounting of router, and setup of a door frame bit, we were perplexed as to why all our cuts were so inconsistent; varying as much as 1/16". We soon discovered that there was a defect in the manufacture of the table.
When holding a straightedge on the top of the table one can easily see a deviation of 1/8" in flatness from the front of the table to the rear. The deviation begins immediately at the miter slot.
We returned our table to the seller and were offered a store credit. Before accepting the store credit we checked all other Bosch Router Tables they had available. All those in stock had the same defect in manufacture. We took a refund and went to another vendor. Surprisingly, however, all their tables had the exact same defect.
We opted for another brand.
Hoping to help Bosch, we called their Tech Support number. After describing the problem to them we were told "You guy should remember to measure twice and cut once". Our reply" "We did measure twice. That's how we discovered the defect."
If you are in to making woodworking a frustrating and aggravating experience this is the Router Table for you. If you are not concerned with accuracy or consistency, by all means buy this table.
However, if you prefer quality and precision, shop elsewhere.
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66 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
An Engineering Nightmare, January 11, 2003
This review is from: Bosch RA1180 Benchtop Router Table
The biggest ripoff in the modern tool world!!! The fence must be totally removed by a tedious and time consuming process to access the router for bit removal. When the fence is secured to the base it is impossible to remove the router plate no matter where or how you slide the fence. I blasted the Bosch reps at a National Tool Show and they said, "Yeah, we get lots of complaints on the fence hold down!" I think Bosch should redesign the fence hold down assembly and send retro fit kits to all current owners. It is such an involved process to change bits that I am thinking of demanding my money back from Bosch
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